Exceeding Expectations - April 8, 2014

I finally finished Elizabeth Gilbert's novel and am happy to say that my expectations were well exceeded.  This is the type of novel that you read slowly and immerse yourself in the characters and the ideas.  I highly recommend this novel to anyone who is in the mood to savor a book.

Currently Reading:

• Night in Shanghai by Nicole Mones (received through Goodreads)
• The Bohemians: Mark Twain and the San Francisco Writers who Reinvented American Literature by Ben Tarnoff
• The Word Exchange by Alena Graedon (received through Goodreads)  

On Deck:

• We Were Liars by e. lockhart (received through the publisher)
• Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
• Colonel Roosevelt by Edmund Morris
• From Souk to Souk: Travels through the Middle East by Robin Ratchford (received through NetGalley)
• The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North (received through NetGalley)

 Recent Reviews:

The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert

5 stars

Alma Whittaker grew up on an isolated estate in Pennsylvania during the early to mid 1800’s.  An awkward but extremely bright individual, she absorbed all she could learn about botany and science and could debate with the best minds around her father’s dinner table.  This novel is about the life of one woman and the heartache, the triumphs, the adventure and the struggle that accompanies everyday life.  The fact that Alma did not lead a perfect life, she did not end up a renowned botanist and she bungled up many relationships along the way did not impede her passion for living and her desire to experience life and nature as long as possible.   There were many life lessons that could be gleaned from this woman’s long and tumultuous life and it is a testament to the author that it proved to be fascinating to the end.